5 comments about Panasonic DMRE85HS Progressive-Scan DVD Player/Recorder with 120 GB Hard Drive Recording.

1. I got mine in summer 2005, since always I found problems. First, when I press the REC button on the box just don't start recording even after few seconds, I try everything, this happens random. Second, when I got recording I'm not able stop recording with the remote, the times I tested pressing remote buttons I ended always with wrong video output to my plasma screen ???? very weird. And some few other issues like menu operation and programs not beeing recorded as previous user instructions trough the program menu.
   
   Now isn't reliable anymore, all the other problems I could live with, but now is impossible, example, I programm any recording for movie or tv show (lets say for 90 minutes) I endup with that 90 minutes movie saved in just 20 (TWENTY) minutes ???? We start watching the saved movie and after 2 minutes of play we get a jump/gap of large pieces of scenes ???
   
   First I tough maybe the Hard Disk Drive need some REFORMAT to clean the FAT (File Allocation Table) due to the extensive use I gave to the recorder as I put it to save one movie/tv show per day.
   
   BUT seems not the case, after clean and reformat the Hard Disk Drive, I tested again with more movies and tv shows and the problem remains randomly, the HD is getting some kind of failure or the recorder is getting himself some software/hardware problem.
   
   Isn't reliable at all. Due to the new models outside I'm leaving Panasonic and looking into Sony's new HDMI models.



2. I've had the DMR E85H for over two years now and it is terrible. It locks up, takes a long time to power up, once you power up about 50% of the time the remote only partially works and I need to power down, and back on (another 2-3 minutes wait), to see if I can set it up to record something now. Many many people on forums all talk about these problems and how Panasonic doesn't back this up, hides the firmware updates. I did return my first unit to the store and got a 2nd one. It does has the exact same problems - it's not my machine, it's all of them. I'll never buy Panasonic again.
   
   The only good thing if I am patient and don't miss the first part of the show because of the problems, it does seem to record and play back nicely. I just can't believe that they would release the recorder with as many problems as it has.



3. I have had this unit for 2 years or more and it was great compared to using a VCR, in many ways, but I find that it isn't very reliable for recording everything I program in. Whether it is programmed by using the TV Guide listings or by putting in the time and dates myself, it will sometimes just skip a program I want recorded. I think that the causes can be that sometimes the TV Guide listing goes out or the tv channels do not match exactly what my channels are. Also, there are times when it thinks I don't get a channel that I do get and I have to go in and turn that channel on. If it would stay on, that wouldn't be so bad, but this thing is always having to be reset to get the channels back for TV Guide.
   
   Why can't some company design a recorder that has a hard drive and dvd but can also use a cable card?



4. This DVR was the biggest waste of money EVER. I wouldn't even give it one star, but I had to in order to save this review.
   
   During the first year we owned it, it was in the repair shop for more than half the year. They repaired it once, we brought it home and it still froze up and wouldn't work. So we had to take it back and they ended up replacing the hard drive (which is what we told them was the problem the FIRST time we took it in). Of course both times it was in the repair shop they kept it for about 3-4 months. They should have given us a new unit since it was obviously defective (it stopped working after about a month the first time). We used it the 2nd year we owned it here and there, but we were afraid to count on it for anything since it still wouldn't tape things consistently (even though we had scheduled it to tape a few shows weekly). We got talked into buying a 2-year extended warranty for another $150 since we had so many problems the first year. That was another huge waste of money, because when did this machine die (yes, die -- it doesn't even turn on any more and we haven't even used it this year because of the TV strike)? It died on a Saturday, the day before the warranty expired but of course Panasonic wasn't open on the weekend so we couldn't report it until AFTER the warranty expired. I would NEVER buy another Panasonic DVR, particularly one with a hard drive, because they DON'T work.



5. I bought my unit over 3 years ago when my vcr died. Did some research and liked what I read about this unit.
   
   The DMR E85H is not as difficult to learn to use as some reviews state, and it's not as troublesome either. Mine has operated nearly flawlessly the entire 3 years I owned it. Earlier this year, I bought a second dvr,and went with the Phillips DVDR 3575H, since more Panasonic DMR E85s were not available at that time. The Phillips is a fine unit, but I definitely like the Panasonic MUCH better.
   
   Last week, the Panasonic went completely dead.... a simple internet search took me to this page: http://vassfamily.net/projects/DMRE85H/dmre85h.html I followed the information on that page, and found the same 3 capacitors leaking on my unit. Easily replaced them myself, and got it back in operation, for less than $10!

2 comments about Emerson EWR20V4 DVD Recorder/VCR Combo.

1. I sent my unit to Funai (support for Emerson) two months ago. I still have not received it back. Someone was supposed to call to let me know the status. Has not happened. Unit was great when it worked,but it stopped keeping time. Buy if you are sure you will never need service.



2. i hated it. i even returned it and bought a Toshiba DVD recorder. with one of theirs, you can make discs that play anywhere. This one, i never found a way. so that's why i say, don't buy this recorder, Toshiba is a good way to go.
   
   and later, when i went o emerson's website to look at it there(maybe i missed something) i couldn't find ANY dvd recorders. so i'm not sure if they'll help you there.

5 comments about Lite-On AllWrite LVW-5005 DVD/CD Recorder.

1. Just learned, in the hard way, that Liteon stopped supporting this model. I sent my unit out for repair, for the second time in six months, and was informed that Liteon will replace my unit with a newer model. Unfortunately the "newer model" does not support PAL or multi region formats. Liteon refuses to even try to repair my unit. Very rude customer service.
   Stay away from this manufacturer.



2. You'll see another review where someone says the DVD laser simply stops working around 7 months if you keep the unit on. I didn't know this when I bought it. I kept it on, and sure enough, 7 months later it stopped working.
   Based on the reviews about the nighmare of dealing with their support and/or replacement equipment, I'm just going to cut my losses. Time to look for a well known name brand and purchase an extended warranty.
   Lesson learned. Don't buy this unit.



3. I got this as a Christmas gift & was pleased in the beginning. Then the door wouldn't open using the remote or the front panel buttons. Customer service is a bad joke; they don't answer their 800 number. It took 2 hours of being on hold to find out there is no local service available,you have to send it in for repair. If you read other customer reviews, this unit is notorious for the door not opening. Liteon is aware of the poor design yet they choose to not correct the problem. Avoid it at all costs. They managed to lose my unit & I have been unable to trace it.



4. When I bought this unit,it seemed to offer the best performance for the money. It was new on the market, and there seemed to be more customer complaints on more expensive Sony and Toshiba units. It was cheaper, far easier to use, and produced better video quality than a terrible Phillips unit it replaced.
   As in other reviews, after a year or so, things started to go wrong. First, on an intermittent basis, after I loaded a blank disk, it would prepare it for recording, then read out "stop" mode, but you could hear the disk still spinning wildly in the drive. When it was doing this, it would not stop, or go into the "record mode" until I turned the unit off and on, often numnerous times. Frequently the recorder would not turn off without cutting the power to the unit. Some time after this began, all timer recordings failed. Most failures resulted in disks that could no longer be used- the unit would neither load, nor initialize them if the original recording process aborted. Recording quality also diminished noticably over time.
   A piece of equipment that becomes un-reliable, and has to be replaced after a year is no bargain. Factor in wasted disks, and the frustration of missed recordings, and I'll pass on Lite-On products in the future.



5. These Liteon 5005 DVD recorders are sensational.They make beautiful recordings as good as Sony's for a lot less money.You can update the firmware and they can be set to be REGION FREE allowing playbacks of DVD's from throughout the world.Very easy to use the guider button makes it a snap even if you never operated a dvd recorder before.

4 comments about Pioneer DVR-520H-S - DVD recorder / HDD recorder.

1. For many years, I have VCR taped all of our favorite television programs for later viewing. As juggling the different tapes is cumbersome and viewing quality ranges from acceptable to poor, I have been closely watching the DVD/HD recorders for some time as a replacement for VCR taping and to put all our family VHS tapes onto long-lasting DVD.
   
   I liked the features and generally good reviews of the Panasonic models, but was hesitant to buy into the DVD-RAM technology as it seems very limited and likely to become more so as the DVD standards continue to evolve.
   
   I chose the Pioneer DVR-520 because I liked the unit's features and have had great success with Pioneer products in the past.
   
   While only using it for about two weeks... I really like it. Very easy to set up and simple to tape from TV to either the HD or DVD-R/DVD-RW. I have done all my recording on SP which allows approximately 40 hrs of HD programming and 2 hrs per DVD.
   
   Picture quality has been terrific and the "easy record" feature makes it a snap to record television programs.
   
   The manual is a bit tedious, so I generally just review the section headings in the table of contents and then dive into the onscreen menus. These are easy to navigate and each feature that is highlighted includes a thorough descrition of what it does.
   
   Overall, I find the Pioneer DVR 520-H, quiet, simple to operate, produces excellent recorded picture quality, and so far, does everything it claims to - and quite well at that!



2. I've had the unit for about two weeks now, so am still exploring, but am happy with it so far, especially after the saga of purchase. Originally bought a Hitachi, discovered it wouldn't work without activating TIVO, then went through TWO Panasonic EH-85s without either one ever working right (tech support finally hypothesized that the factory got a bad batch of chips, installed them in consecutive units, and shipped a bad batch to the retailer).
   
   I bought this primarily to archive home movies -- some going back 25 years to when my Navy son was taking his first toddling steps. The VHS tapes are deteriorating, so I wanted to get the footage digitized, and it's now cost-effective to do so. And though the editing functions are tedious, I've been happy with the results so far. The machine also really shines at time-shifting broadcast TV for later viewing and if that were the only purpose for the purchase it would have still probably been worthwhile.
   
   Good points: very easy to use for timed recordings and it will record over 100 hours at the lowest quality (which is fine for us for time-shifting; it's about the same as 6-hour mode VHS recording on a good machine). The "fine" and SP modes (1 hour and 2 hours per DVD, respectively) offer less recording time but much higher resolution and less graininess -- the SP mode is virtually indistinguishable from a commercial DVD. Editing of video is straightforward, moderately intuitive, and easy to learn as it's menu-driven. The machine has a couple of neat features I didn't expect -- if the TV channel provides the info, the 520 will automatically title what it records off the air with the name of the show, making it very easy to find the shows we want to watch a day or two or ten after broadcast. It also plays back JPEG CDs made on a home computer, so we can show friends our digital photos on the TV instead of on the computer.
   
   Less-than-good points: I haven't yet been successful in getting the VCR+ to work despite help from tech support, but we've got another couple of things to try and the lack of VCR+ is trivial, since it's so easy to set the manual timer. The editing functions are EXTREMELY tedious -- it uses hierarchical menus which require the user to go to all the up to the top level and back down several other levels to change functions. Editing out a commercial, choosing a frame to use as a title thumbnail, and then titling the segment require about 15 thumb presses instead of 3 or 4, due to the multiple trips up and down the menu hierarchy (plus many more thumb presses to actually input a name using the "arrow key cursor" with the on-screen virtual keyboard). It made me long for keyboard and mouse inputs on the recorder! Lastly -- the disks it makes in SP (2-hour) mode have played on all the machines with which I've tried them. The disks made in slower modes only play on about half of the other players, so I guess I'll just buy a few extra blank disks and use SP mode when I make copies of home movies to share with family.
   
   Overall -- I'm glad I bought it and like it so far. For heavy-duty editing, I'd probably be happier doing it on computer. For light-duty editing, such as archiving old broadcast tapes or digitizing home movies, it's tedious but works just fine. For time-shifting broadcast TV to view later, it's a HUGE leap forward from a VCR with 6 hours of capacity requiring linear searching to find the desired program. I'm pleased with unit, feel I got my money's worth, and recommend it.



3. It took me a few months to decide which DVD Recorder I would buy. Pioneer, of course, has an excellent name and their products are usually reliable and are top quality. I have DVD Players by Pioneer and also external DVD/CD recorders for my PC, so after much research I gave the 520H-S a shot. And I'm very satisfied -- everything worked right away: the hook up, the recording quality and all the features of this DVR are just excellent. You will need to read through the manual in order to understand the onscreen menues and commands, etc. As other users mentioned, the editing functions are a little tedious and you'll need the manual right beside you.
   But it's easy to record TV shows, old videos to the 80GB harddrive and then make edited copies to a DVD-R. The finalized DVD-Rs that I've recorded played in all my DVD players and the quality is excellent. It took me about a couple of hours for the complete setup for my home theater system with satellite receiver, video player, other DVD player, etc., so that everything worked perfectly. And it took me about a day to record the last 12 years of home videos that we had and burn the DVDs. The 80GB harddrive comes in handy with a capacity of approx. 36 hours for SP mode (excellent quality) recording. The burning of the DVDs is fast -- it takes about 5-7 minutes for a 2-hour DVD to burn and finalize.
   Compared to the other models out there and considering all the features, etc., at this price I think the Pioneer DVR 520H-S is hard to beat, and it's a solid top quality unit with lots of features. Also, it has a DV input (i-Link) which lets you hook up your digital camcorder right into this DVD recorder and record unto the harddrive or a DVD. It's not an absolute perfect machine though, because e.g. it converts film-like 24P fps into 60i with a so-called Pure Cinema feature and it's okay, but don't think of this machine as a substitute for PC computer editing if that's something you'd like to do, because the editing features are just not extensive and/or sophisticated enough on this machine to do so. But it's probably the best DVD Recorder out there at the best price and I really enjoy it, and I'm glad I bought it.



4. I bought as copy of the pionerr DVD recorder from Best Denki in Singapore and the recorder can do feature like simple edit after recording, record TV programme, copy non protected disc, writing bad disc, record from camcorders, line in recording from any deivce like VCR by using program L1 (line 1) and the playback could play multiregional purchased DVD and play RCE disc of code 1 (columbia tristar/sony picture based disc). This gives user a chance toi select any titles they wished to view which add more viewing experience and entertainment.
   
   Review by:
   
   Dr, MR Franc MBBS (PhD) GPS Ang Poon Kah
   Director 'lou Ye' - Ang Poon Kah for film summer palace.

5 comments about Sony RDRGX315 DVD Recorder.

1. I am so happy with the Sony DVD Recorder RDRGX315. Originally I had purchased the Sony RDRGX330 and was not satisfied because I could not edit out the commercials.
   After I purchased the RDRGX315 recorder and started using it I was in heaven. Sony needs to bring back the RDRGX315 because it is better than the other one.



2. I have many Sony Products -- a television, a minidisc player, an AV receiver, a VCR, etc., and I have to say given my past experience that I still it find it hard to believe that this piece of junk says Sony on it. This recorder is very good at making coasters. Of course, you may not even get to make a coaster because there are times when I have difficulty getting the tray to even come out. I've been in the demeaning position of sitting there and hitting the eject button 10-15 times before getting a response. The motor is working but the door is stuck or unresponsive from day one. The DVDs it does make "successfully" can't be played on any other piece of equipement under any circumstances and the thing sometimes won't even play the DVDs it burns itself. While it used to finalize DVDs in the past, the DVD recorder has essentially decided it no longer wishes to perform that work. The Remote Control is the most awful and ill conceived remote I have ever had the misfortunate to hold in my hand. Key functions are essentially hidden away in a strange compartment. I made the huge mistake of buying the recorder without doing any research only because I have purchased so many Sony products over the years. In any event, this DVD recorder is good if you are looking to burn $200 for no reason and I am utterly over my brand loyalty to Sony and will look to another manufacturer when I finally do replace this garbage. Run fast and far away from this one.



3. I have had nothing but trouble with this unit and I just bought it last year. We purchased a sony b/c it was compatible with our sony camcorder and now we cannot even burn our information on to a CD.
   
   I will preset the recorder for programs and it will not even record at all. It will only record when you press the record button for immediate recording. Even then it will sometimes only record a portion of the program. I guess it has something to do with the copyright protection I keep reading about.
   
   I have a Samsung recorder and it hasn't given me any trouble. I will not buy this Sony product again.



4. This DVR was OK for what we used it for, but now (for the last year almost) it only intermittently records DVDs. it seems to be a heat related problem, and I've done the best I can to separate it from other equipment. It often works in the AM on one or two programs and then quits. This is the second SONY DVR i've had that is heat sensitive to recording and the 3rd overall that just seems to quit after a year or so of service. It's out of warranty and I'm not sure what to buy anymore.



5. I am something of a connoisseur of DVD recorders. I own four Sonys and four Panasonics. I was interested in the GX315 primarily because of the small size and multiple recording speeds.
   
   It did not disappoint: recordings are flawless, as are all the Sony machines I own. The design is sleek and elegant and, as it stands only about 2 1/2 inches high, it has a streamlined look and feel.
   
   But the 315 does have several negatives. It takes a lot of time to do anything: format the disc, write a title to the disc, and finalize. Much longer than any other Sony machine I own. The remote does not have a Record Pause button, as do the others, which mean it is difficult to get into the beginning of a film cleanly. On all the other machines, pressing Rec/Pause puts the machine into standby, and then goes immediately into recording when pressed again, making timing easy. There is very little room on the title list for titles. Not more than two or three words. The other machines have a full line. There are thumbnails, but are chosen by the machine and can't be changed.
   
   But I like the machine very much anyway. It handles all recording formats, and up to 16X discs, which is a good reason to buy. It is becoming increasingly difficult to buy DVDs less than 16X.

5 comments about Philips DVDR3400 DVD Recorder with DivX and USB 2.0.

1. I just burned my first disc (DVD-R) with this unit. The disc won't play on my Pioneer DVD player (that plays other DVD-Rs with no problems) or my PC. The interface is cumbersome and the remote needs to be really close to the unit to work at all. I'm taking it back tomorrow.



2. The Philips 3400 rates as the worst piece of electronic equipment I ever bought--worse than anything Panasonic made in its worst days. It would be better if you could not turn it on from the get go in order to save frustration and wasted discs. If you record a disc and do not turn it off immediately after finalizing the disc and then unplugging it for 15+ seconds, when you go to record next disc, it locks up and makes that next disc unusable (and still requires pulling the plug, as it wont shut off before trying to record another disc). Probably have wasted 25 discs this way. The remote is klutzy in that much of the time you have to press button several times before the unit responds. It has no such thing as one-touch recording as it requires pressing the source button (despite setting up defaults to record from the DV input) and then the record button. On ending a recording, it has a convoluted way to telling it to finalize the disc. I have a Sony unit a few years old; and it works flawlessly. You can bet that after these two weeks of frustration, the Philips is going back to the store; and I'll spend the few extra bucks for another Sony.



3. The other reviewers are mostly right. The remote control is pure junk. The poor little featherweight device has to be right in front of the player to work and even then you have to push the buttons multiple times for anything to happen. But even worse are the menus. They are, well, bizarre. I would really love to meet the people who designed them. I am a bit distrubed knowing that minds like this exist. I have a knack for figuring out how to operate electronic equipment without reading manuals or getting any assistance. But this machine stumped me. Nothing is intuitive. To get anything done you have to follow arrows of different sizes up and over and down and to the right and then back again and by the time you've accomplished what you wanted to do your vision is blurred and a headache is developing. That having been said, it is still not as bad as some. The Panasonic that an earlier reviewer recommended is, I found, much, much worse. Put it this way, I kept it. I've gone through about 5 different kinds of DVD recorders in the last month and this one stayed in the house. Once you figure out how to use it it does what you want it to better than most. (The best DVD recorder by far, although that is still not saying much, is the LG. Amazon does not seem to carry it so go to Best Buy or something.)



4. I bought this recorder because it had VCR+ and boy do I regret it. when you set the recorder to record in the future, it asks you if you want the recording to continue and when it begins to record, If you are not there to answer OK, it does not record.
   
   The remote is so insensitive you have to be 3 ft in front of the box to get any response which is incredibly slow. The ergonomics of the unit are devilishly frustrating, which lead me to believe that the unit is really some weird psychological experiment devised by Philips to drive American consumers crazy.



5. Don't waste your money like so many of us have. This DVD recorder is nothing but a waste of time and money. Charges should be brought up on phillips for selling such a worthless product. Criminals!!!!!

2 comments about Toshiba D-KR10 DivX Certified DVD Recorder with 1080p Upconversion and Front DV Input.

1. I have it for a week and all is well so far.
   It upscale regular dvd nicely, it's not a picky machine, play various recorded dvd, scratched dvd, play mp3 music.... It also record dvd easily. I wish it has component input (only output)so that I can feed it better signal to make better recording. So far I'm satisfied with it for the money.



2. Ordered this new from sears 2 Februarys ago when it was too new for them to carry. Didn't get any extra warranty after being screwed over by one with sears before. Tried to hook it up to surround sound and now the dvd part wont record with a picture or play back home made discs at all. It will only play factory dvds and videos. Cant watch the 10 discs full of stuff I've recorded for the last 2 weeks or record anything new so its useless. Paid $220 and it doesnt last more than 2.5 years. Plus it was always very slow & was a pain switching buttons back and forth every time you wanted to switch from tv to disc. And when you press record overnight it always leaves a code on the screen so you have to press enter on the dvd remote, nothing else will clear it so you can watch or eject the disc. My 1st and last toshiba.

5 comments about Philips DVDR3355/37 DVD Recorder with 8 Hour Digital Video Recording.

1. I made the fatal error to buy a philips recorder last year. it started screwing up after 7 (!) recordings so I took it back. It did the same after 20 recordings and I took it to be serviced for a second time. When I got it back it wouldn't even read the disc!!! I had to yell at them to get a replacement and I got the 3355 model today! It did exactly the same thing that user Brad Smith described and YES it is a really frustrating experience. Avoid Philips products or at least their DVD recorders!!!



2. I don't see what the problem is. I've had this model for a few months now and have had no unexpected problems. It does play both -R and +R discs perfectly, and easily records to anything but DVD-RAM. If you've been experiencing playback problems, then the issue is most likely with the write on the disc itself. On the downside, and like most every set-top DVD recorder, the recorded discs probably won't play in other machines without reauthoring. And, the remote control is lacking features commonly found on others. But, overall this is a fantastic recorder for the price.



3. The following are my issues with the DVDR3355:
   
   Sometimes a recording on DVD-R media did not allow Fast Foward or Rewind. There was a similar issue that a firmware upgrade was meant to resolve: Before the upgrade all finalized DVD-R could not be FF on the device but would be perfect on another player. Now it became erratic: sometimes it's possible to FF sometimes it's not (even on other DVD players), which is frustrating.
   
   When the EDIT menu is poped-up I cannot FF or FRW because the remote buttons to do that are the same to navigate the menu system. It's a pain trying to find the index picture if you've missed it because you can't go back without exiting the Edit menu, which brings another issue:
   
   Exiting the EDIT menu always makes the device to UPDATE the disk, regardless if you did any actual edit or not. This is such a simple software issue to resolve that I can't believe philips did not make it into a firmware upgrade yet.
   
   I can't change the video aspect unless there is no disc on tray or tray is open. I can't accept that an expensive device like this one does not let me change the display aspect "on the fly" like any (unexpensive) other DVD player around (including DVD players from philips)
   
   My brother owns another DVDR3355. He lost unique, very important recordings (the 2006 world cup final for instance) that took 2 hours recording because the UPDATE of the disk failed after the STOP was pressed. His device also did not seems to be able to record successfully on DVR-RW media from philips (and perhaps any other brand). My own device do not have this problems tough.
   
   There seems to be impossible to RECORD in 16:9 aspect (widescreen). I own a Widescreen digital camera (Panasonic PV-GS59) but I've found no way to record on my DVDR3355 in widescreen using the front CVBS inputs (I did not tried the other inputs nor the MiniDV input - firewire - because I did not own a DV cable yet - and yes, I made sure the camera was outputing int 16:9 before you ask :-) ).
   
   Many operations are DAMN TOO SLOW. Ejecting a DVD can take up to 30 seconds. Boot up can take this or much longer (up to 1 min). If I tried to Eject just after powering on, the device seems to freeze. If I operate too fast the remote, the device sometimes seems to freeze for up to 1 min (one time even requiring me to click the power button on the device because the remote wasn't responding).
   
   I think the firmware of this unit and it's menu system to be pretty much in beta stage and still too much stupid. Overall I liked the unit because I really wasn't expecting too much from it, but I was TOO MUCH disapointed by the firmware and Menu/Operation. I was very satisfied with my previous philips players and found them simple to use, but this DVDR3355 usage is cumbersome. I also thought that this device would be full of new features because it was such a modern concept, but instead it was a rather primitive DVD player compared to more "ancient" pure DVD players. This device is really a recording one and do not replace your (old) top-notch DVD player / Home Theater system.
   
   If it was not for the menu and firmware I would rate it 4 out of 5, which means that a future firmware upgrade could make me this happy. Today, with the menu and firmware issues I will rate it 2.5 out of 10. Since I did never own any other DVD recorder to date (not counting PC based ones) I can't be sure if there is a DVD recorder that is better than this unit today.



4. If you're thinking about buying a Philips, THINK AGAIN!! Their products are absolutely TERRIBLE, and their customer service and policies are even WORSE. I can relate to the other customers and their reviews. I am currently on my THIRD DVD-recorder because they just keep breaking down without warning. The last one I had broke after just SIX WEEKS. And God help you if you try to call their customer service center! All they tell you to do is spend YOUR money to ship back THEIR faulty products. They refuse to do anything the least bit helpful, claiming it's "Not their policy". Not their policy to satisfy their customers?! Apparently not, because I am FAR from satisfied.
   
   PLEASE reconsider buying anything by Philips! Or if you DO make that fatal mistake, do yourself a favor and return the product to the store, get your cash back, and buy something reliable like a Sony or Panasonic. Trust me---you'll be glad you did!!



5. Initially I thought it was a good idea to purchase a refurbish DVD player.I've always enjoyed the Phillips brand of products and I thought it would be a good idea to purchase this DVD player. It also had the technology and the functionally I was looking for.
   There were several issues with this DVD player, first it took a very long time to read and play a regular CD which happened to a store bought music CD. Of the two CD I tried to play one finally played and the other didn't. I also experience the same problem when I tried playing a regular DVD. This DVD player is supposed to be able to play a variety of recording formats; however, this was not the case. I also tried playing a mini disc which I used on my camcorder only to encounter the same problem over and over. In regards to the recording onto a disc that was another set of issues. I did not find this function to be very user friendly, it was very complicated and it did not work. If I was to rate this product, I would have to give it a 1 out of 10 and the 1 being the worst.

5 comments about Samsung DVD-R160 Tunerless 1080p Upconverting DVD Recorder.

1. The unit worked for a few weeks then started having all kinds of problems. When recording on RW- disks, it would continuously stop and restart recording, adding a new title every time it restarted recording. Then it began having problems with R- disks, it would just stop recording. Now it is having problems reading any disks, even professionally recorded DVDs. It says it can't read the disk. I have since read a lot of bad reviews for Samsung DVD recorders. I won't be buying another one of their products.



2. This recorder was give to me as a gift and it works great I have recorded about 50 DVD with out a problum so I am glad that I did't lisen to the other reveiw's because this is a great recorder.



3. I bought this Samsung recorder to go with my new Samsung HDTV. Unfortunately, I have to agree with the other 1-star reviews here. Mine worked ok for a few weeks, then the HDMI output stopped working. No more upconversion. The s-video output still works, but I didn't buy an HDTV to watch movies in standard definition.
   
   --------------------
   UPDATE: Samsung support was very helpful and suggested I upgrade the firmware. After downloading a file from their web site, unzipping it, and burning it to a CD-R, I was able to successfully upgrade the firmware and the issue is resolved.
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   I was also surprised that some of the keys on the TV remote that have the same label as the DVD remote are not recognized by the DVD player. This reflects are certain lack of polish in the Samsung products.



4. I haven't found another DVD recorder that would upconvert to 1080P AND record on dual layer discs. This DVD recorder does both, and plays very well producing a nice image on my Samsung LCD TV. I've recorded a few movies off my cable box DVR with no problems, and that was using inexpensive DVD-R's and DVD+R's. There is a firmware update for this unit on the Samsung website which I installed very easily.
   
   I did have one problem though, I couldn't figure out how to turn off subtitles. I called Samsung, and a very courteous rep told me that a button on the remote control labeled "Anykey" brought up the menu I needed. I think this menu should have been under the main setup menu, but not enough to take off a star. I highly recommend this unit.



5. I've owned dvd-r 160 for approx 8 months. After the first 2 months the unit refused to plat ANY dvd's. Prior to that everything was ok...recording was a breeze! Called Samsung and they advised downloading a firmware update...it worked great...for 6 months. Now after several phone calls and downloading version 2 of the firmware, again, will still not play any dvd's. My next option per Samsung is to mail my unit to new jersey for repair. Amazingly without any diagnosis Samsung told me that it will cost $70 for the labor to fix the unit (I think they know what the problem is). So now I'm debating to waste more money on Samsung or to just get a new unit from a competitor. This is the second piece of faulty Samsung electronics I've been involved with in the past year. Stay clear of their HD CRT tv's!! I went through 3 defective units in a row! Do yourself and loved ones a favor if you really need a dvd recorder spend the extra$$$ and avoid Samsung, all their issues, and enjoy your audio/video experiences. Please learn from my expensive mistakes. don't just take it from me... your online read other reviews first...check the a/v forums!

2 comments about Sylvania DVR-90VG Progressive Scan DVD Recorder/VCR Combo.

1. I didn't purchase this through Amazon but my experience may be valuable to anyone thinking of buying it. I bought this solely to convert my family VHS tapes (created with my VideoCam) to DVD. It did a good job for the first ten tapes. Then every single tape after that gave me an error that said I was trying to copy commercially protected tapes. I couldn't convert anymore family tapes. I called the Sylvania help desk but they were helpless. I returned the unit and ordered another one, hoping I had a defective unit. I got the new unit and the convert failed on the first tape. Not only that, any tape I tried to play was unviewable, the tapes flickered constantly. The same tapes played fine on my other VCR player.
   
   This unit apparently has some kind of bug in its design and also a problem in its tape playback. Do not purchase it if you are looking to convert your VHS tapes to DVD.



2. I didn't buy mine through Amazon, but I want to take every opportunity to warn people away from the rip-off that is this piece of junk. Like the other reviewer, we began converting VHS tapes to DVDs. We at least got further along than the he/she did, but it eventually stopped recognizing blank DVDs. Well, we thought, at least we still have the DVD player functionality. Wrong. The machine now refuses to play any commercial DVD with copy protection (read: 99% of them).
   
   If you're driving along the I-5 near San Diego sometime soon and you see one of these fly out of a car window, honk and say "hello."